Manufacturer
Athearn
1550 Glenn Curtiss St.
Carson, CA 90746
www.athearn.com
Description: ready-to-run plastic model
Comments: Factory-weathered freight cars are now available in HO scale as part of Athearn’s Genesis series. We reviewed a smooth-side 50-foot boxcar lettered for Missouri Pacific no. 782043 and an exterior post 50-foot boxcar lettered for Golden West Service no. 136395. Both cars are based on prototypes built by Pacific Car & Foundry in the 1970s.
All lettering on our samples matches prototype photos. The light weathering coat is applied evenly on the carbody but slightly heavier along the bottom sill.
The boxcars ride on metal wheels mounted in plastic trucks with rotating bearing caps. The wheel faces are weathered, but each wheel has a shiny spot where it was masked by the sideframe.
The wheels are all in gauge per National Model Railroad Association standards. The couplers are also at the NMRA-specified height.
These models make it easy to add grungy-looking in-service cars to your HO freight car fleet.
